I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to say. I am lost and alone in this world today.
Mary Ann heard the song and found herself feeling blue. Yes, that was exactly how she felt. Lost and alone and without a clue how to proceed. She didn’t want to feel sorry for herself, but this had been a bad year. She had lost her job as a personal assistant to a very influential – and generous – Hollywood producer and despite all of her most diligent efforts, she’d had no luck finding anything that was even remotely comparable. She was down to considering part-time employment at Coffee Bean, which unlike Starbucks, didn’t offer health insurance to its part-time labor force. Plus, Chad had left her for that ding-bat, whose artificial breasts practically rendered her useless in day-to-day life, and worst of all, she herself had been diagnosed with a small brain tumor which had to be treated with an intense round of radiation. Yes, it had been a hard year.
The phone rang and Mary Ann reluctantly answered it. She figured it was her mother who had grown accustomed to calling her everyday right at 5 pm. Mary Ann loved her aging mother, but the routine of an everyday phone call exactly at the same hour of the day served to draw attention to the fact that she had absolutely nothing else in the world going on. A fact that was shifting Mary Ann’s usually positive attitude to one that was dour.
“Hello,” Mary Ann said, her voice revealing her glum spirits. “How are you today?”
“Why, just fine,” said the voice on the other end of the line – a male voice, and definitely not her mother’s.
“Oh, excuse me,” Mary Ann said. “I thought you were someone else.”
The unidentified man laughed. “I thought that might be the case. No problem. My name is Jeffery Webster and you interviewed for a job at my company a few months back. Do you remember me?”
Mary Ann had interviews at over 20 jobs over the past months and they were all blending together. She felt flustered. “Could…could you tell me the name of your company or where you’re located?”
The man chuckled again. “I can see I made quite an impression. It’s the Webster Film Group. You came during the middle of your radiation treatments and you were a little…well…let’s just say, I suspect it wasn’t your best day or one of your better interviews.”
“Well, I have to say that my mind is still in a bit of a haze from the radiation,” Mary Ann said. “Could you tell me why you’ve called?”
“I was calling to offer you a position, but if you’re no up to par, then I’m feeling less than optimistic about your chances of handling the workload. Perhaps, this is a bad…”
Mary Ann quickly interrupted him. “No, please! I need a job. Please don’t give up on me so fast!”
“All right then. Why don’t you come to the office in the morning and we’ll reacquaint ourselves with one another? But I want to say that the job is not yours until I’m that you can handle the workload. I will give you one more chance to convince me that you can.”
“Yes, yes,” Mary Ann said. “I’ll be there at nine. Let me just jot down the address.”
Bright and early the next morning, Mary Ann stood in front of the building where her interview – her re-interview – would take place. Try as she might, she could not conjure up one memory about this building or the interview itself. She was dismayed to find that even once she entered the office of Webster Film Group, she still didn’t have one ounce of memory. She only hoped that the appearance of Mr. Webster himself would jog what clearly was a complete lapse.
A short, heavyset man walked into the reception area right at nine. He had a bald head and was wearing a Hawaiian shirt, shorts and flip-flops. “Hello,” he said to Mary Ann. “Happy to see you again.”
Mary Ann searched his face for an iota of recognition. “Hello,” she said. “I’m happy to see you.”
Mr. Webster gave her a long look. “So, you remember me now?”
Mary Ann, never one to stretch the truth even a bit, considered lying, then thought the better for it. “No, the truth is that I don’t recognize you or this place or anything. The doctors assure me all of this fuzziness will pass, but I know you need someone at the top of their game now, so I’ll bid you good-bye.” She stood up to go.
Mr. Webster touched Mary Ann’s arm. “Wait just a minute. It’s not everyday I meet a person who truly needs a job, but doesn’t want to shortchange me. I’m impressed by that attitude”
“That’s awfully nice of you to say.”
Mr. Webster pointed to the laptop sitting on the reception desk. “Sit down and take a dictation. Let’s see how fast you type.”
Mary Ann settled down at the desk and waited, fingers poised on the keyboard.
Mr. Webster stood thinking for a moment then said, “Dear Mary Ann. I am pleased that you are here today. I was impressed with your honesty during your initial interview when you told me that you had health issues and that you might not be the best employee at the moment. I found your response refreshing. Now, I’m even more pleased to see that you appear incapable of not telling the truth, even if it’s to your detriment. I would call that an excellent quality.”
Mary Ann’s finger flew over the keyboard. She smiled at the mention of her good qualities, then sat poised for more copy. Instead, Mr. Webster touched her arm. “That’s plenty. You’re hired.”
Stunned, Mary Ann regarded him warily. “Please don’t hire me unless you truly need me. I don’t want to think this is an act of charity.”
Mr. Webster sat in the chair opposite her. “My mother died of brain cancer five years ago and I happen to know all too well what a frightening diagnosis that is to receive. If you call that me feeling sorry for you, then so be it. The truth is that I’m quite impressed with you. I expect you will transform this office in no time. That is, if you’ll take the job.”
Mary Ann searched Mr. Webster’s face. Not one trace of conniving in it. She glanced around the large room where several people were now sitting at desks, doing their jobs. None of them looked unhappy. In fact, several were laughing with one another and appeared to be enjoying their work.
“A decision?”
“When do I start?”
“Right now, if you like, or else tomorrow morning if that’s more convenient.”
“Right now is just fine, “ Mary Ann said. “And thank you.”
Mr. Webster smiled. “Let’s make this the beginning of a very long work relationship.”
She nodded, feeling happy for the first time in a long time. “Yes, let’s do.”
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